Music making is often a collaborative effort among many musicians who interact with each other. One form of musical interaction may be provided by a video game genre known as “rhythm-action,” which involves a player performing phrases from an assigned, prerecorded musical composition using a video game's input device to simulate a musical performance. If the player performs a sufficient percentage of the notes or cues displayed for the assigned part, the singer may score well for that part and win the game. If the player fails to perform a sufficient percentage, the singer may score poorly and lose the game. Two or more players may compete against each other, such as by each one attempting to play back different, parallel musical phrases from the same song simultaneously, by playing alternating musical phrases from a song, or by playing similar phrases simultaneously. The player who plays the highest percentage of notes correctly may achieve the highest score and win.
Two or more players may also play with each other cooperatively. In this mode, players may work together to play a song, such as by playing different parts of a song, either on similar or dissimilar instruments. One example of a rhythm-action game with different instruments is the ROCK BAND® series of games, developed by Harmonix Music Systems, Inc. and published by Electronic Arts, Inc. and MTV Games. ROCK BAND® simulates a band experience by allowing players to play a rhythm-action game using various simulated instruments, e.g., a simulated guitar, a simulated bass guitar, a simulated drum set, or by singing into a microphone.
With respect to simulating a drum experience, the ROCK BAND® series of games uses a drum peripheral comprising four pads, each associated with a color and lane in the game. From left to right, the colors are red, yellow, blue, and green. The pads also correspond to buttons on the game controller. For example, for an Xbox 360 drum peripheral, the pads, from left to the right correspond to the B button, up on the control pad, down on the control pad, and A button. For the PlayStation, these are the CIRCLE button, up on the control pad, down on the control pad, and X button.
The ROCK BAND 2® drum peripheral also allows the player to connect optional cymbal peripherals to the drum peripheral. Like the pads of the drum peripheral, the cymbals also correspond to specific colors and lanes in the game and buttons on the controller. For example, a yellow cymbal corresponds to the yellow pad, and, when presented with a cue or “gem” to provide input corresponding to a “yellow” input, players can strike the yellow pad or the yellow cymbal, or for multiple yellow gems, the player can strike just the pad, just the cymbal, or combinations of both. While the cymbals add a modicum of realism to the drumming experience, one of the inventions described herein provides an experience that is closer to simulating a real drumming experience.
ROCK BAND® also allows users to provide input using guitar controllers that simulate a guitar. The “fake plastic guitars” however, do not train players how to play a real guitar. One of the inventions described herein provides instructions to a player such that skills can be carried over from the game to playing an actual “real guitar.”